Eliminate, or Save?
by teddygirl105
Summary: Alex Kuvier, the member of a guild that nobody knows except for their members. They kill, not monsters like the Hunting Blades, but humans. His next job, the Child of the Full Moon. How will he take her Highness down? Brutally? Or in secret? Or maybe not at all... / I do not own Tales of Vesperia or their characters, nor do I own the image used. MasaeAnela's LP was used as a base.
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

"Come in."

Opening the creaky door, a man around 5'9" entered the dimly lit room, where an old man sat at a desk covered with papers. "So, I've been told that I have a new mission. What is it?" he asked the man, and he beckoned for him to sit at one of the chairs.

"This'll be your longest one."

Opening the folder in front of him, he was met face to face with the profile picture of a girl with short pink hair.

"A royal, huh? 'Child of the Full Moon'... One of the candidates for the imperial throne as well? Why so?" he asked, and the man lit his pipe.

"Insipid poison. The healing artes she uses don't require blastia, so it disrupts the aer. If she's eliminated, then there won't be any super major problems with aer anymore. Less stuff to worry about." he explained, and the boy nodded.

"Interesting. My time limit?"

"As long as it takes. However, you need to be careful. Resources have said that she's in a group, possibly a guild. Make sure that they don't know about your ambitions, but you may do whatever to rid of them. Take your bodhi blastia with you." he said, grabbing a small chest and opening it to reveal some sort of thick bracelet with a glowing blue crystal.

"Thanks." Grabbing it, the boy pulled it on his wrist and stood up with the folder in hand. "I'll be getting ready and leaving as soon as I can."

"Don't die."

"As long as you don't, old man."

* * *

"Let's see... I'm nearby Heliord, and apparently the Mistress is coming here with her group as well. If I can, I should be able to catch them during so. There aren't any monsters nearby, and I can't just go up to them." he muttered to himself.

Looking at his daggers, she sighed. "I don't have a choice, do I?" he asked himself, before grabbing one and forcefully slashing his arm. "Ugh!" Taking the blood, he smeared it over himself, to pretend that he was in a big battle. "One slash in the arm isn't enough..."

Staring at his stomach and leg, he slashed his leg before abruptly stabbing himself in the stomach, coughing up blood. Though yes, it was brutal, he did anything for missions.

Breathing heavily in pain, he dragged himself to a nearby tree, close to the path that the group was walking through. The boy could see them coming, so he hoped that they would see him.

Attempting to stanch the blood with his hand, the group came by and sadly, went right past him.

"W-Wait..." he breathed out, stretching his hand towards them, but they didn't hear him. _'Shit.'_

Using the tree to help him stand, he slowly walked behind them, so close to touching them before collapsing on his knees.

The one in the back, a Krityan with purple hair in a bun, wearing quite the revealing clothes while hold a spear turned around and quickly went to help. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked, but only more blood bubbled out of his mouth.

"Guys stop! We need to help this person!" she yelled to the group, and they turned around to see the mess of a person he was.

"Oh my god." The one with long blackish-blue hair wielding a sword in his left hand quickly covered the eyes of a short boy that was carrying a large bag. "Don't look Karol. There's just... too much blood."

"Huh?" the boy questioned, and the boy assumed that he had gotten a quick peep. "Agh!" he yelled, cowering in the young man's arms.

"He's lost a lot of blood. Estelle, can you heal him?" the Krityan asked, and the girl beside her nodded.

He smiled.

 _'There's my target. Step one, done.'_

The boy closed her eyes and succumbed to the darkness.

* * *

"Ngh..."

"Are you awake?"

The boy opened his eyes to see the long haired man sitting next to him, staring at the campfire in the middle. It seemed to be nighttime, as everyone else except a dog and the man were awake.

"How long was I out for?" he asked, slowly sitting up on the mat he was on. Examining his wounds, they seemed to be fully healed, though he was a bit sluggish with the blood loss.

"Only a couple of hours. It was around the late afternoon when we found you, and it's almost the middle of the night." the man explained, and he nodded.

"How are my wounds fully healed?"

"That's the work of Estelle. Her healing artes are pretty useful." he said while he combed his hands through his shoulder blade length hair and tying it up into a ponytail, his hazel eyes shining amber in the fire light.

"I see. Also, I don't think we've introduced ourselves. I'm Alex. Alex Kuvier." he said, sticking his hand out.

"Yuri. Yuri Lowell." He took his, and they shook hands. "The pooch here is mine. He's Repede." he said, gesturing to the dog that was sitting in between them, and Alex smiled.

"Hey there. You're pretty interesting, aren't you? Having a blastia and all. You're still a good dog, following your owner all this way." he mumbled to him, stroking his fur and scratching behind his ears.

"Looks like he likes you."

"Seems so."

Yawning, Yuri lay down and closed his eyes, Repede curling up close by. "If you don't mind, I'm gonna take a rest."

"Fine with me. I'll keep guard for you." Alex added, pulling on some finger-less gloves from his pouch.

"Thanks."

As Yuri fell asleep, Alex pulled a bundle of clean clothes from his pouch and stripped his dirty ones off, wearing the new ones. Loose pants that stopped at his knees, snazzy sneakers, a plain white t-shirt, and a red vest. To top it off, he slipped on a necklace, just a string that had a blue teardrop gem tied at the end of it.

 _'Step two, complete.'_

* * *

"I must thank you for healing my wounds. I really appreciate it." Alex thanked, giving the group a slight bow.

"It's nothing! We're glad to help!" The girl that introduced herself as Estelle bowed back with a smile. He had woken them up by preparing some breakfast for them with his provisions, and they had a nice chat before putting out their fire and packing up.

"What will you do now Alex?" Karol asked, and she sighed.

"I honestly don't know. I was originally going to head to Heliord for a bit before going back to Capua Torim to catch a boat to Capua Nor, then travel around a bit in Ilyccia, but maybe I'll shift my attention to Dahngrest." he explained.

"I'm afraid that's a bad decision. Dahngrest is in a bad state after Phaeroh attacked, so I doubt you'd like to go there." Yuri added, and Alex sighed.

"Is that so... Maybe I should go back to Zaphias..." he mumbled, before pretending to realise something. "Hey... You guys are a guild, right?" he asked, and Karol nodded.

"Yup! We're Brave Vesperia!" he cheered.

"I see. If that's the case, then is it okay if I join your guild? I really have nothing to do, so this would probably be my best choice."

"That should be fine, isn't it Karol? As long as you abide to our guild's rules, then you're welcome to join." Yuri explained, and he nodded.

"Well, whatever your rules are, I agree. I promise not to break any rules and regulations nor betray Brave Vesperia. If I do so, then taking my life will be subsequent. I swear on my honour." Alex recited, hand on his chest, and Yuri smirked.

"You sound just like a knight. Almost like Flynn."

"Thanks for the compliment, I guess? Also, I dunno who Flynn is, though he sounds familiar." Alex commented.

"He's Yuri's knight friend." Judith added, and he nodded.

"Got it. So, am I in the guild now?" he asked.

"I guess so. Welcome to Brave Vesperia, Alex!"

* * *

In no time, they had arrived in Heliord, the Rising City. "The city seems less busy than before." Estelle commented.

"Before? So you guys were here once?" Alex asked, and she nodded.

"Yes. It was on our way, and the blastia went out of control. One of our friends tried to fix it, but failed in the end. We were going to check up on it." Estelle answered.

"Cool. Anyways, you guys don't mind if I wander for a bit? I haven't been to Heliord before, so I'll meet you guys back at the inn." Alex suggested, and walked off from the group.

Once he was far enough away, he went off to a secluded part of the city and took out a scrap piece of paper and a pencil.

 _'Old Man,_

 _The mission is currently a success. I've joined their guild, Brave Vesperia, and though this is illegal, I don't have a choice. The Child of the Full Moon looks just like her description, though her allies aren't that much of interest. There's a man from the Lower Quarter of Zaphias, named Yuri Lowell. We might have seen him a few times, though we're located in the Civilians' Quarter. The captain is Karol Capel. A kid from Dahngrest, though he isn't too bad. Yuri's dog Repede isn't so bad either. There's also a krityan tagging along named Judith._

 _I think I've seen Yuri on a wanted poster somewhere. Probably a thief or small criminal. That's all for now._

 _\- Alex.'_

Rolling it up, he stored it safely in his pouch and walked back to the inn. It was late into the night, and just as he was about to enter, the door was opened by Yuri.

"Restless?" he asked, and Yuri shrugged.

"A bit. I'm gonna go take a walk."

"Stay safe."

Walking out, Alex stepped in, walked up the flight of stairs, and entered their room. It was quite large, and Karol and Estelle were asleep. The balcony was connected, leaving a light breeze through the room.

Walking to the railing, he took out the letter and summoned some aer. "Go to the leader." he whispered, and with that, it disappeared.

"Now it's time for some sleep."


	2. Chapter 2: Talents and Strengths

"So you're finally awake."

Opening his eyes, Alex saw Yuri next to him and slowly sat up. "Is it morning already?" he asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Yeah. The others are downstairs, so once you're ready just meet us there."

"Got it." Leaving Alex to do his things, Yuri left the room to join up with the others. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he stood up and walked to the balcony, where a piece of paper was sitting on the railing.

Grabbing it, he opened it up and read it through.

 _'Dearest Alex,_

 _It's good to see that you're working well. For now, stay with them. You know we have many advantages and leeway, so use those. Show the seal on your left hand, but make sure to never show it to that guild. If you use it, be in disguise._

 _You know that, 'Alice'. As much as you hate your female disguise Alex, it's the easiest way._

 _Continue with your work._

 _\- William_

 _P.S. Stop calling me 'Old Man'.'_

"You'll always be Old Man to me, Old Man." Alex mumbled with a smile, tucking the letter away. Smoothing out his clothes, he grabbed an apple from the small basket on the table nearby and went downstairs.

"Welcome back."

"Thank you." he said, greeting Judith and the others. "Where are we going today?" he asked.

"We're checking the blastia. After that we're going to go to Capua Torim and see if we can catch a boat to Nordopolica." Karol explained, and Alex nodded.

"Alright. Let's go look at that blastia and get going."

* * *

"It seems normal." Alex commented.

"It went crazy the last time we were here though." Yuri added, and Alex nodded.

"Ms. Estelle!"

Looking over, a young boy and a woman that Alex presumed was his mother ran up to the princess as she crouched down.

"You know these people?" Alex asked Yuri, and he nodded.

"We met them at Capua Nor and saved them from a nasty magistrate. Ever heard of the name Ragou?"

"Ohh, that dude. He's so malicious and evil and, ugh! I just hate him."

"Well you don't have to worry about him any more."

"Why? Did you like kill him or something?" Alex joked, and Yuri went silent. "Shit... You did, didn't you?"

He nodded.

"Damn. But don't worry, it's for the best." he said, attempting to comfort Yuri by patting him on the shoulder, though he was shorter than him.

"Just don't tell the others. They don't know yet."

"Alright."

Turning back to the group, both the child and mother had gone off somewhere, and Karol, Estelle, and Judith were talking about something. "What's going on?" Alex asked, cutting in.

"It seems like Teagle, that child's father, was taken away to a labour camp. Their mother said that they were promised nobility by Cumore." Estelle explained, and he swore under his breath.

"Of course it's Cumore. That bastard, waving around his title and screaming 'I'll become the commandant!' Jeez, he get's on my nerves. Anyways, we need to find a way to get into the camp, right? It's not like we can stroll on in, there's a guard there." Alex mentioned, and they nodded.

"We could disguise ourselves." Judith suggested.

"True. You or Estelle could do it. Maybe even Karol." Yuri added.

"Or Alex could do it." Karol exclaimed, and the man stared at the kid with a shocked look.

"Me?! Why not Yuri? We're not that far apart in age, and look at his hair! It's longer than mine!" he retorted, even going as far as turning Yuri around and stroking it.

"How old are you anyways? 19?" Yuri asked, smacking Alex away and turning back around.

"I'm 20, thank you very much. I'm guessing you're around 21?" he asked back, and Yuri nodded.

"Nice guess. Birthdate?"

"What, did this turn into 'Find everything Alex knows about himself?' I only turned 20 quite recently, my birthday is on October 14th. You?"

"I don't know." Yuri answered with a shrug.

"What."

"Like I said, I was born in the lower quarter and my mom died. I have no idea who my father is. All I know from Hanks is that I was born sometime in the summer. My temporary birthdate is July 10th." Yuri explained, and the others nodded.*

"Cool. Anyways, back to the task on hand. Who gonna distract the guard, or seduce in Judith's case?"

"You." they said in unison.

...

"What the hell?!" he yelled, and Yuri quickly covered his mouth.

"Shush, you're gonna attract attention!" he hissed in his ear, and Alex nodded.

"Anyways, why me? I'm not even a girl!"

"It could have been Karol." Estelle added, and he sighed.

"Fine, fine. Let's go to the inn and find a costume, shall we?"

* * *

"So you want a dress, even though you're a guy." the merchant confirmed, and Alex nodded.

"Don't ask, just do it. I'll pay you." he said, taking out a bag of gald. "How much do you want? 500? 1000? 700?" he asked, picking through.

"It'll be 420 gald." the merchant said, and Alex counted some coins before giving it to him and walking away to wait.

"And that's business! Now we wait." he said, taking a seat on one of the chairs.

"Why didn't you pick something... I dunno, flashier?" Yuri asked with a smirk, and Alex hit him on the arm, making sure that the others weren't listening.

"Dude, it's not like I have breasts to show off or anything. Nor any skin, it's just covered in ugly scars. Scars that'll never come off no matter how hard I've tried. You're lucky that you've got Estelle with you to heal your wounds. I've always needed to resort to the old fashioned way, stitches and all. I've never been able to afford poison bottles until now, so Estelle is someone to stick with." Alex mumbled, pulling his knees to his chest and resting his chin on them.

"How did you heal yourself when you were poisoned?" Yuri questioned, curious.

"Toughed it out. Before the symptoms would fully hit me, I tried to get to a nearby city or town and stay at an inn, telling the owner beforehand. Sometimes I couldn't so I just set up camp or run into this travelling inn. The symptoms aren't that bad, but you can't do anything. It's a high fever, deliriousness, loss of energy, dehydration, just that in a nutshell is enough to deal with."

"...Give me one second."

Watching Yuri walk over to the merchant, they talked for a bit before he came back. "I made some changes to your costume. Hope you don't mind." he said, ruffling Alex's hair, and he nodded.

Staying in silence for a few minutes with Yuri next to him, Alex was quickly called up by the merchant. "There were some changes made to your costume. I hope that isn't a bother." he said, and Alex took the fabric from his hands.

"It's fine."

Walking upstairs, he entered one of the empty rooms and changed. "My god Yuri, why." he muttered to himself as he grabbed his folded clothes and exited the room, going back downstairs. As he descended down, he pulled out the elastic from his hair and let it free.

"Who knew that you'd look good in this?" Yuri smirked, and a light blush appeared on Alex's face. He normally wore dresses for missions that involved being in disguise, but never like this.

In shorts that barely covered his thighs, and a tight fitting top that turned into a halter, it looked like there was a vest underneath, though it was just one piece. To top it all off, he was wearing gloves with white shirt cuffs that went up to his mid bicep and mid-thigh high boots.*

"I look so... weird."

"Almost like a pros-" Alex quickly ran forward and covered Yuri's mouth.

"Shh! You know, Karol's just a kid! You can't just go around saying the word prostitute whenever you want!" he hissed in his ear before shoving him away, clipping on the bow that came with it into his hair.

"Let's just go."

* * *

"Are you sure Alex will be fine?" Estelle asked, worried for the young man. He was slowly approaching the guard that was standing right next to the lift that would take them to the labourers' camp.

"Sure of it. The guard won't be able to take his eyes off of him." Yuri assured with a smile. "If same-sex marriage were a thing here or if Alex were a girl, I'd take him home."

"...You're disgusting Yuri." Karol muttered.

Pulling on a lusty face, Alex approached the guard, his hips swaying. "Hey there tough guy." he said, his voice now sounding like a female's. "You seem... lonely. Want me to keep you company?" she asked, coming closer and placing a gloved hand on his chest.

"I-I mustn't! I need to keep guard!" he exclaimed, trying to keep his composure.

"It'll only be for a few moments. Come on!" Grabbing the guard's hand, Alex dragged him to behind the blastia, where Yuri and the others were now on the other side. "Don't come over here guys." he said, his stern voice startling the guard, but before he could say anything, his helmet was taken off and a knife was to his head.

"Gimme one minute, okay?" he called out, and Yuri yelled back.

"Okay?" he said, confused.

Taking off the guard's clothes before they got bloody, Alex set them aside and summoning some aer, made the body disappear. He was lucky that no blood was on the ground, only on his gloves. The cuffs were stained with red, but no one would notice. "Okay, done now!" he called out, and the group walked over.

"Where did the guard go?" Karol asked.

"He's somewhere. Disappeared like magic." The group looked at Alex as if he were crazy, but quickly shook it off. "What are we doing now?" Alex questioned, and Judith picked up a gauntlet.

"We have someone disguise themselves as a knight and enter the camp."

"Okay. Lemme get changed first."

"Man, too bad the cuffs are stained. It was starting to grow on me. Eh, I'll wash it out as much as possible and keep it." Alex muttered to himself, and stored the costume away. Running out of the inn and back to the group, he saw that Yuri was now in the attire of a knight.

"Fits you. More handsome than your normal attire. If we just do something with your hair..." Walking up to Yuri, Alex used the elastic that was still around his wrist to tie Yuri's hair up into a ponytail. "There we go."

"Hey you! Get back to your post!"

Turning around, they saw that a guard had approached Yuri. "What?" he questioned, but was pulled away and led by the guard into the Chevaliers' HQ.

"We should go see what happened." Judith suggested, and they nodded. Walking up to the HQ doors, they were about to enter when a giant explosion shook the ground.

"Uh oh."

Rushing in, they were met with Yuri standing in place while fallen guards littered the area. A short mage stood in the centre, fuming. "Do you guys seriously not know who I am? Jeez, show some respect!" she yelled.

"Welp, we've got an angry mage. Time to subdue her." Standing in place, Alex muttered a few words and a magic circle appeared under him.

 **"Subdue this person that poses a threat, Heaven's Chains!"**

Pointing at the mage, a burst of light seemed to come out of his hand and wrapped around the mage, darkening into chains that subdued her. "Hey, what the hell?" she yelled, wriggling around, and Yuri rushed forward.

"Stop Alex! She's a friend." he yelled, and with the swish of a finger, he removed the chains.

"Yuri? What are you doing here?" the mage asked as she brushed herself off.

"I could say the same to you. Why don't we step out and chat?"

* * *

Yuri had changed out of the guard's clothing, and they were all outside of the HQ. "So, what are you doing in a place like this?" Estelle asked.

"I was going to check on the blastia before investigating the aer krene." the mage explained, and they nodded. Meanwhile, Alex was looking at her with a scrutinizing face.

 _'She seems young for a independent mage. Definitely from Aspio, rarely any mages aren't from there, A.K.A me. The old man said something about a young genius mage, is that her? R-something.'_

"Hey, what's your name?" he asked, butting into their conversation.

"Who are you?" the mage asked, looking at him weirdly.

"Ladies first." Alex said with a smirk, and she clicked her tongue.

"Rita Mordio, age 15."

"Ms. Genius Mage. The name's Alex Kuvier, the newest member of Brave Vesperia, our new guild. Nice to meet you, Chibi-chan." he said, patting her head.

"What does that mean?" she angrily asked, but he just put a finger to his lips.

"That's a secret! This is the perks you get when you have two main languages instead of one!" he joked.

"Alright?" she questioned.

Out of the corner of his eye, Alex spotted two figures, both he knew and despised. Grabbing on Karol and Rita's arms, he dragged them behind the large blastia in the center of the city. Yuri and Judith caught on and led Estelle there as well.

"What the hell? Let go of me!" Rita yelled, but Alex shushed her.

"If you'll excuse me, genius mage, but I don't want to be caught by Mr. I'll-Be-Commandant-One-Day and Mr. I'll-See-You-Later-Liebchen. If you're a genius, then you should catch on to what I do quickly." Alex muttered, annoyed.

"I'm a genius in magic and blastia, but that's all! Jeez..."

Peering out to the lift, Cumore and Yeager didn't seem to notice that the guard was gone. "Milord, shouldn't you be headed to the Sands of Kogorh?" Yeager asked, and and Cumore laughed.

"I don't have to listen to Alexei." he sneered.

 _'Alexei is still commandant? Last time I saw him, he was trying to take my bodhi blastia away from me because "It was illegal use." Excuse me, but I got this blastia with legal ways, A.K.A keeping it with me after my training in the knights. How is that illegal! That other dude got to keep his blastia when he left, so why not me?'_

Letting his thoughts trail off, he quickly caught up with the others and ran up to them, barely managing to get on the lift before it descended once more.

 _'Speaking of knights... Yuri seems familiar. I've seen his face a long time ago. The name Flynn Scifo rings a bell as well. Anyways...'_

Entering the camp, there were a few tents here and there, most of them holding boxes underneath. There were scarcely any people, though Alex saw a little girl alone playing by herself a few meters away.

Interested, he split off and walked to the girl. "Hey there." he said softly, crouching down to her height. "What are you doing here all alone?" he asked, and she walked up to him.

"Were you brought here from upstairs, mister?" she asked back, and he nodded, playing along with her. "At this hour, all the adults are at the construction site." she explained. "Mr. Knight will scold you if you don't get there soon!"

"Alright. Thanks for the info, missy." he said, patting her head before standing once more.

"Alex! Where are you? We're getting into some trouble!" Yuri yelled, and Alex ran over, looking to see some red eyes and Yeager with their weapons out.

"Finally, a battle I can enjoy. Let's go, Yeager!" Whipping out his daggers, the fight began. "The red eyes go down first! They'll be less of a nuisance!" he yelled, and the others nodded.

Engaging battle with one of them, they had a friendly little clash until Alex managed to disable him by slashing both of his arms. He hissed and backed off, allowing Alex to focus on Yeager.

"It's nice to see you again, Alex. How is your work going?" he asked with an eerily creepy smile.

"It's none of your business, Yeager. The secrets of our guild are never shared with anyone outside of it." Alex sneered, jumping back to cast an arte.

 **"Thou who wouldst take revenge, carve here thy holy seal. Eclair de Larmes!"**

A seal appeared underneath Yeager, and not knowing that he should step out, he was blasted by a burst of light and took heavy damage.

"Tch! I forgot you were such a high skilled mage." he growled, and Alex just gave him a taunting smile.

"Taught by the very best!" he said with a smile, but before he could attack Yeager once more, a knight, most likely Cumore's, came up.

"Sir Cumore! It's the Flynn brigade!" he announced.

 _'Brigade? Last time I remember, Flynn was like, in training or something. My memory is blanking out.'_

"Hey, Alex! Get a move on!" He looked up to see everyone running off, Yuri lagging behind to call to Alex.

"Right!" Taking off, he looked behind to see a man with blond hair in a suit of armor run up. They locked eyes and the man, which Alex presumed was Flynn, gasped.

"You're-!"

"Gotta blast!" Alex yelled before running off with Yuri.

* * *

*Yuri's birthday is actually unknown, same with all the other characters. Alex's birthday is random, and the one that Yuri has is some random one I made up.

Everything would be easier if they had set birth dates TvT

*Also, the costume that I used for Alex is Megurine Luka's module for the song Blackjack. You can search it up with the power of Google!


	3. Chapter 3: Allies with Secrets

"Damn it. They got away." Alex muttered. They came to a clearing to take a quick break, and Cumore was long gone.

"Then let's head straight to the harbor. The Sands of Kogorh are still a long ways from here." Yuri suggested, and the guild nodded.

"But what about Cumore! Are we just going to let him go?" Estelle exclaimed, but Alex paused her.

"I do believe that the purpose of your journey was to find someone, correct? I'm merely going on what our guild has told me, so correct me if I'm wrong." Alex said.

"I couldn't have said it better myself." Judith added. "I wasn't aware that Brave Vesperia followed your random whims." she sternly said, and Estelle looked down.

"I-I'm sorry. Those were never my true intentions." she muttered, but Alex just patted her on the shoulder with a smile.

"Don't worry, she's just telling you to relax. For now, let's just focus on the main matter at hand, finding Phaeroh. Cumore and the others can wait a bit longer."

"Besides, Flynn is on the scene, and he can take care of things very well." Yuri added, and Estelle sighed.

"I guess you're right."

"Wait, "Brave Vesperia"? "Phaeroh"? Explain everything, please." Rita asked, confused.

"I was just about ta ask the same questions myself."

Hearing the unfamiliar voice, Alex whipped out a dagger and held the person at knife point. "And who are you?" he asked, but Yuri lowered his arm.

"He's friendly." he whispered, and with a click of his tongue, put the dagger away.

"Haven't seen you around. I'm Raven the Great!" he said with a smile, but Alex didn't smile back.

"So, Raven from Altosk, right? Think I've seen you around before. I'm Alex Kuvier." he introduced, and Raven looked at him with a scrutinizing eye.

"Are you in that guild?..." he began to question, but stopped himself after seeing the glare from Alex.

"Isn't your name Damuron-"

"We'll have a private talk later, kid. For now, let's head to Torim Harbor. Old Raven's getting hungry." he waved Alex off, before starting to walk without them. Staring at each other, the group reluctantly followed behind.

* * *

They arrived at the cheery Torim, and went to the inn to get some food and rest. Entering the boys' room, they ate a bit of curry before most of them went to bed. Beforehand, Raven had explained why he had suddenly appeared to the group, though Alex didn't understand anything.

The girls and Karol were having a nice rest, while Yuri was out keeping guard with Repede, just for a bit.

Alex and Raven walked over, closer to the docks where there was no one in earshot. "So, what's a infamous guild member like you doing with a new guild, dear Reaper?" Raven asked, and Alex just sighed.

"Mission orders." he answered, and Raven shook his head.

"Don't ya kill people? If your target is someone important, then why stay with a guild like theirs?"

"Well, who's someone who's important in that guild?" Alex questioned, crossing his arms and looking out to the sky.

"...Ms Mage?"

"Close, but she isn't important enough."

"..." Raven stayed quiet, and Alex assumed that he had figured it out already.

"So, what about you? Taking on the alias of Raven when your name is Damuron Atomais? And that other name, Schwann Oltorain or somethin' like that. You've got three names, is one not enough for you?" Alex asked, and Raven grit his teeth.

"My name's got nothing ta do with you. As long as ya keep them a secret, I'll keep yours a secret as well." he proposed, and young man nodded.

"Alright. Don't be surprised when I turn my back."

"I could say the same ta you."

* * *

It was pretty restless night for Alex. It wasn't normal for him to get nightmares, but when they happened, they were horrible.

It was normally about the killings he'd done. Blood would be in his hands, bodies surrounding him and his daggers in his hands. The whispers of the people echoed around, reminding him of his sins.

 _"Why did you kill me?"_

 _"I had a family!"_

 _"Going so far to kill royals? What scum."_

 _"What would your mother think if she was still alive to see you doing such things?"_

 _"You're a murderer."_

 _"A monster."_

 _"Demon."_

It wasn't just whispers of the current him, but also from the past.

 _"What a coward. He couldn't even hurt a fly."_

 _"He stole a blastia? Why haven't the guards caught him yet? He should rot in jail."_

"That isn't right!" he wanted to yell. "That isn't true!" he wanted to shout.

But he couldn't.

Those nightmares were suffocating and absolute hell. He just wanted a dream that was decent for once! Not one that ended up with someone dying no matter what or one where it was a bloody massacre!

But... This nightmare was different.

Instead of the usual darkness, it was bright. Just pure white all around him.

But when he tried to move, he couldn't as if he were tied onto something.

The white cleared to show a protesting crowd, a priestess, and some sort of prince. With further examination, Alex realized that he was tied on a cross.

Just like Joan of Arc.

The prince looked like Yuri, and the priestess as Rita. In the crowd, people that looked like Judith, Karol, Raven, Estelle, and Flynn were found.

"With the proof of witchcraft, murder, and seduction, Anya Kuvier will now be executed!" the Rita-lookalike yelled, and the crowd jeered. "I, Anne Mordio, have been told by the Gods of her sins, and have been told her consequence!"

"Our prince, Kyte Lowell, has offered to do the deed, and he will do it proudly!" she yelled once more, and the crowd started to chant his name.

"Silence!" he ordered, and the townsmen quieted down.

"I... admit that I had fallen in love with this woman, but once I was told of her crimes, I despised her. That is why I have decided to execute her myself, so that my sins shall be cleansed." Kyte explained, but Alex could see that in his eyes, there was sorrow and regret.

"Very well, your highness. Take the royal blade, carve the holy seal onto her body, and end her life." Anne explained, handing him a dagger that looked just like the one he wielded.

Kyte walked up the steps, so that he was up close to Alex, now as Anya, and held the knife with shaky hands. Carefully, he started to carve a seal into his flesh, and Alex bit back the urge to scream.

Biting his lip, tears trailed down his eyes and dripped onto the knife, making Kyte look up.

"I'm sorry, Anya." he mouthed, finishing the seal. Blood was trickling out of his stomach, and lifting the knife higher, Kyte went to strike Alex's throat.

"No!"

* * *

"Agh! Fuck!"

Waking up with a jolt and a cold sweat, Alex clutched his neck. _'Need to stop the blood, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die.'_ he thought in his head, but when he lifted a hand off his neck, he saw that there was no blood.

"Just a dream?" he mouthed out, shivering as he tried to bring his breathing back to a normal rate. "I'm fine. Just a dream, just a dream." he whispered to himself, looked besides him to see if anyone had woken up.

Karol was all the way at the end, still fast asleep, Raven seemed to be resting well too. Yuri was also asleep, but it looked like he almost woke up.

An image of Kyte flashed in Alex's eyes, and he blinked it away. "Yuri isn't Kyte. Kyte is a completely different person than Yuri. He's a noble, Yuri's a commoner. There's no way they could be related. It's just a coincidence that they look the same-"

"Alex, are you awake?"

Surprised, he looked to his left to see that Yuri was awake, though drowsy, and had sat up. "It's the middle of the night. Did something happen?" he asked, rubbing his eyes, and Alex gave him a shaky smile.

"I-It's nothing. The usual nightmare." he lied, and Yuri just stared, fully awake and now skeptical.

"You don't mind telling me, do you? We're fellow guild members, so we've got nothing to hide." he said, and Alex just nervously looked around.

"...You mind if we go outside first? I don't want to take everyone else up."

"That's fine with me."

* * *

The two men walked outside, sitting on a nearby bench. Repede was take a light nap outside the inn, and no one was around.

"Do you get nightmares often?" Yuri asked, and Alex nodded.

"Yeah. Ever since I was young. They've increased to quite the terrors, but I've gotten used to them now." Alex explained.

"What sort of terrors?"

"...Whispers. I'm a bit of an insecure person, so they normally haunt me from my past. It affects me still, but not by much."

"Well, what you had today was certainly not whispers." Yuri commented.

"You're right. It wasn't whispers, but a sort of mirage. I was... tied up on a cross, like something I saw in a book once. There was a crowd around repenting and yelling at me, and I even saw some of our group in there. In the center was a priestess that looked so much like Rita, it was uncanny." Alex started to tell his story, and Yuri listened carefully.

"Like Rita, huh?" he mumbled.

"She was definitely another person though. Anne Mordio. Had the same last name, but it could have just been my mind making up things. Next to her was a noble, a prince or someone, and holy shit did he look just like you. It was almost scary. The same eyes, hair, everything. But of course, he was much more mature that you are."

"Are you saying that I'm immature?" Yuri asked, mocking shock.

"Maybe. But anyways, he was apparently named Kyte, which is a weird name if you ask me, but he had the same last name as you, Lowell. The priestess has said that I was accused for murder, witchcraft, and seduction, and that I, Anya Kuvier, must be executed."

"Anya sounds like a name you would have if you were a girl. The last name is the same too."

"Surprisingly, I was told that if I were a girl, my mother would have named me Anya. But here I am as a boy, named Alex instead."

"Interesting." Yuri muttered, looking up at the sky. "So, did you get burned or something?" he asked, but Alex shook his head.

"Apparently Kyte wanted to "cleanse his sins", so he took responsibility. The priestess gave him a knife that looked like one of my daggers, and with it, he carved a seal into my stomach before slashing my neck."

"Gruesome."

"No shit. The pain was so real. After that, I woke up, and fast forward to you waking up, here we are."

The two went silent, and Alex sighed, cradling his head in his hands. "I'm so fucked up. What did I do wrong that made me so unlucky?" he whispered, and Yuri slung his arm around Alex's shoulders.

"I'm sure that it'll be better. If you have any nightmares, go ahead and talk to me. I don't mind if you wake me up, and if you can't, then just whisper to me. It's better to let everything out instead of bottling them all up." he casually said, and Alex tilted his head to him.

"Thanks." he muttered, and Yuri patted his shoulder, standing up.

"It's nothing. Gotta help a fellow guild member. If you don't mind, I'm heading back to bed."

"Be my guest. I'll be out here for a bit more."

Yuri walked back in the inn, leaving Alex alone in the presence of Repede. "As if everything'll get better. As soon as I kill Estelle, he'll go batshit crazy and it'll be the start of what happened last year."

"Speaking of which, aren't I still running from the empire? If Raven is Schwann, and there's a brigade, doesn't that mean that he's a guard? Unless Alexei took control of hunting me down after I killed that royal, then hopefully I'm safe."

"I hope."

* * *

Daybreak came, but Alex didn't sleep a wink. After contemplating about his actions, he went into the inn and just laid in bed until everyone woke up.

"So, now we find someone to bring us to Nordopolica?" Alex asked once more after they grouped up outside, and Karol nodded.

"Let's just hope that someone is kind enough." he sighed, and they went off to the docks.

But before they could make it, there was someone dressed royal clothes, and Estelle called out to them. "Oh, Ioder!"

The teen that was around Estelle's age looked over to see the princess and walked over. "It's you all. It seems we meet again." he commented, and they nodded.

Ioder looked over to see Alex, and tilted his head in confusion. "I'm afraid we haven't met before. What is your name?" he asked.

"Alex Kuvier, sir. It's nice to meet you, Ioder Argylos Heurassein." Alex said, bowing down with a smirk as Ioder took a step back in shock.

"I'm surprised that you know of my full name." he said, and Alex just smiled, straightening his back.

"Who wouldn't? You're a successor to the royal throne, so your name must be known, sir." Giving his infamous closed eye smile, Ioder stayed deathly silent.

"Is there something wrong, Ioder?" Estelle asked, and Alex opened his eyes to see what was wrong.

"It's nothing. Alex here just looked similar to one of my servants that I had." Ioder explained, and though Alex was passive on the outside, he was panicking and swearing in his head.

"Had? Why past tense?" Yuri asked.

"It seemed like he was a spy of a guild, and was assigned to kill the now-deceased emperor. He is why Estelle and I are competing for the throne." Raven took a glance at Alex, who just looking innocent.

"May I ask what his name was?" Alex politely asked, and Ioder nodded.

"He was named Jack Adner."

 _'I'm royally screwed.'_

Alex's eye started to twitch as he stood back and listened to the group talk about the throne and such, while also slowly dying in his head.

 _'Oh god if he finds out that we're the same person I'm headed straight to death no matter how hard I try to resist I'm so glad that I grew out my hair lets hope that I never have to cut it ever'_ Alex rambled in his head, briefly snapping out of it to see that Ioder had left and they were back on their search for a ride to Nordopolica.

"Never knew you could talk so formal Alex. It's like you were a noble yourself!" Karol exclaimed, and Alex just gave a sheepish look.

"It was something I picked up when I lived in Zaphias. I was sent to the Nobles' Quarters many times, so overhearing the conversations around me was how I learned to imitate it." he explained.

"Interesting."

Seeing as Raven was lagging behind, Alex did the same and matched his steps. "Soooo, about that servant thing." he casually mentioned, and Alex just clicked his tongue.

"Please don't talk to me about that. It's not something that I'd like to remember." he retorted.

"It's a surprise that His Highness didn't recognize ya. It's only been about a year, surely ya haven't changed much." Raven commented, and Alex just sighed.

"Well, my hair was much, much shorter than it was before, so I don't blame Ioder. With the plus that I'm like a year older with scars all over my body and a more mature face, I'm sure to look different."

"Maybe you should cut ya hair-"

"I am not cutting my hair unless it reaches my mid-back or if I really need to. I don't want a candidate on my ass."

"But, ya still have royal guards, and they could tell him about ya and he'll be on in a split second wanting ya head." Raven added.

"Don't you fucking dare."

"Old Raven would never do such a thing! Who said I was a captain?"

"You. The name Schwann ring a bell?" he retorted, and Raven sighed.

"Ya got me. Let's just focus on the present, look, there's ta leader of Fortune's Market, Mary Kaufman!" he exclaimed, and Alex looked over to see the woman chatting with the rest of the group.

"Kaufman." he casually called out, and the woman looked over.

"Kuvier. It's nice to see you again." she said, sticking her hand out, and he gave it a shake.

"Alex, you know her?" Karol asked in disbelief.

"Sure do. We're just acquaintances, nothing else. Helped her out once or twice." he explained, and though the group bought it, Kaufman and Raven just stared at Alex in disbelief.

'How is he able to convince them so easily?' they both thought.

"Anyways, you guys are taking my offer correct? Just tell me when you're ready and we can depart to Nordopolica." she announced, and Yuri spoke up.

"I think we're already good. Right guys?"

"Sure, I guess."

"Great! Hop on board."

* * *

The sail was pretty good, though Alex wasn't really a fan of boats. Apparently their objective was to protect Kaufman and the crew, as well as the Fiertia, from any mermen that would jump on board. Simple and easy.

The mermen were nothing compared to some stronger people he had fought before, but then they ran into something else. The area suddenly became foggy, and Alex went on high alert. This normally meant something abnormal was going to happen.

And boy, was he spot on.

A ship suddenly appeared out of nowhere and crashed into the side of their ship, making both stop suddenly.

"The hell?" he whispered, and the larger ship, the mysterious one, dropped it's gangway onto the side of the Fiertia.

"H-Hey! Can't you get the ship to move? We need to get outta here, fast!" Rita exclaimed, and Alex sniggered.

"So the genius mage is afraid of something." he murmured to himself.

"I can't! The ceres blastia isn't responding!" the driver, Tokunaga replied, and Rita just slowly backed away.

"What! You gotta be serious!" she yelled, going to check up on it.

"So, do we board it, because I'm all up for that!" Alex exclaimed as he walked over to the group, and Yuri playfully gestured to the ghost ship.

"You're welcome to go right ahead! Just don't die and come back safely." he said, and Alex nodded, taking a few steps on board.

"Right! See you then!" Walking off, he stepped on board and tested the wood before turning back around. "Come along! It's fine- oh shit." he was about to tell the others to come on board when the gangway suddenly rose back up.

"Welp, guess I'm stuck here. Don't worry guys, just guard the ship if there are any enemies! I can just hop back down once I get back, okay?" he yelled to them, and they nodded.

"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Estelle asked, and Alex shook his head.

"Absolutely positive! Stick tight, okay?"

Walking away from the edge, Alex wander along the top, before deciding to head down.


End file.
